North - a short commentary on attractions and food*From South Point to Captain Cook we had only a highway view. There is a 2 mile hiking trail that gains 150m of altitude through dry forest at Manuka State park.
*Pu'uhonua O Hanaunau (Place of Refuge) - a national park which preserves aspects of traditional Hawaiian life, separated into former royal grounds and the sanctuary area for refugees. There is a 1km trail through the park. Just north of the park is a swimming and snorkeling area called 2 step. There is no sand, but you can set up towels and chairs on the
rocks.*Kealakekua Bay - rent your kayak from your B+B owner or any number of places along the main road or near the put-in spot at Napo'opo'o Pier, and kayak across the bay to the Captain Cook monument. In the morning it is not uncommon for dolphins to appear. There is lovely snorkeling on the reef near the monument. The earlier you can get here the better - large tour groups arrive on boats and take over the area. On the stretch of highway 11 between Place of Refuge and Kealakekua Bay there are several eateries. Super J's (west side) is a run down shopfront that does homestyle Hawaiian plate lunch. Recommended is the laulau (pork wrapped in green taro leaf). Island BBQ (east side) is next to a convenience store and has a couple picnic tables out front. They do surprisingly tasty sandwiches (8-10$ each) - we had the pulled pork (a bit too much BBQ sauce, but flavourful regardless) and the catch of the day (grilled, with tomato, lettuce, sprouts, and homemade tartar sauce) each accompanied by a nice coleslaw accented with caraway seed and sultanas. Across the street from the BBQ joint is a cafe/patisserie/gift shop that does reasonable espresso coffee and sells bread, scones (the
blueberry is nicer than the pineapple-coconut), mini fruit tarts, and other goodies.*Captain Cook village's strip mall has a supermarket, a chinese joint, and a burrito shop. The Manago hotel apparently has a restaurant, but it never seemed to be happening. *Keauhou has a huge and rather disgusting mall with a KTA supermarket and a variety of restaurants. We tried Royal Thai (near the movie theatre). The place was packed, but the food just wasn't that good. The green curry (approx 11$) had no kick, it was just green-tinged coconut cream over veggies. The papaya salad was crunchy but unmemorable. Next door there was a crepe place and a Tex-Mex joint. We went down to the waterfront, which seems to be the origination point for a lot of the tour boats to Kealakekua Bay. The yacht club there was happening on a weekend night, but it seemed like a private party.
*Kailua-Kona - not our scene, but an inevitable stopover on the way to and from the airport. We stayed at the Seaside hotel, which was fine. There is some reasonably priced food if you stay off the waterfront. We ate Mexican (you can get real dishes, like pozole, carnitas (9$), chile verde, birria (9$)) at El Unico, which is in the back blocks of a strip mall north of Hualalai road. If you ask, you can get tortilla de maiz off the griddle. They have a little salsa bar as well. We had Thai at a place called Bangkok house in the King Kamehameha shopping center. The spicy beef with green beans was quite tasty (approx 10$), and they are BYO with a wine shop conveniently located in the same center. In the afternoons, the outrigger canoe teams practice in the bay and you can watch them from the Kailua pier.
*We did not check out the beaches between Kailua and Waikoloa, but our
books mentioned a couple spots that sounded great, especially Kiholo bay. *Waikoloa is occupied by large and scary resort/condo/golf complexes. There are several interesting sites on the resort property including some petroglyphs accessible via the Kings shopping center (yikes) and a trail to the water which runs through the royal fishponds. Upon reaching the shore from that trail, you can head south along an oceanfront trail to Anawho'omalu bay. There is food in both the King and Queen's shopping malls; the latter has a popular food court with the standard fare (Subway, Arby's) and 
a couple plate lunch places. There is also a sushi place called Sansai in the Queens mall which does early bird specials (pre-6p) which brings their prices down to a more appropriate level.*Puako has a really lovely rustic beach, with pine trees and shade. You get the sense it will be ruined soon, as the land behind the beach is being subdivided and rich people are building oversized homes there. There is a minimart there run by a pleasant Indian lady who also has a free book exchange.
*Hapuna beach state park (which connects to the Prince resort) is a lovely long stretch of white sand, popular with families. There is a foo
d stall and equipment rental area on the way to the beach from the parking lot. At the northern end of the beach, there is fun snorkeling with the occasional green turtle and lots of colourful fish. There is a trail from the northern part of Hapuna to the Mauna Kea beach. This is an easy 
1.5km oceanfront walk to another white sand crescent. There is no food (other than resort food) there.*Spencer beach park and the Pu'ukohola heiau. The beach is a tranquil shallow sandy bit nice for kids. The heiau was closed when we went by, but is an impressive rock structure probably worth investigating.
*Kawaihae - this port area has a less than beautiful concrete company on the west side of the
highway. The east side has a strip mall with a few food options: a bento box place, a Tex-Mex joint, and Cafe Pesto which does pizza/salad/sandwich/pastas. We tried the latter and found the food to be acceptable, though the pasta was a bit overcooked (lunches 10-15$). There is a restaurant and bar complex (Kawaihae Harbor Grill and Seafood Bar) in two lovely historical buildings. For the Harbor Grill, arrive before 6p to get an early bird discount. It is a popular place focusing on seafood - we had red curry seafood and pan-fried local fish. Both dishes were good but nothing special, essentially both were versions of fish with cream sauce. Two early bird dinners with 2 drinks ran to 60$.*Lapakahi State Historical park - this is a beautiful and free state park, with dry scrub against
black and white rock against turquoise blue sea. There is a self guided trail around the park past reconstructed huts and other sites used by ancient Hawaiians. There is good snorkeling here per report (enter at the rocks west of the visitor's center) but the seas were too rough at our visit.*Mahukona Beach park - this area was originally a harbor used by the now defunct Kohala Sugar Company. There are remnants of the industry, including a platform from which local kids love to dive. They swim in the well-protected port area while their
parents sit under canopies in the carpark and drink beer.*Kapa'a beach park - This is a less-visited park. No sand, but a cute shelter with picnic tables and some campgrounds shaded by trees. Apparently there is good snorkeling when the water is calm: http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/big-island-snorkeling-kapaa.html
*Hawi - the locals have managed to preserve the adorable weatherb
oard buildings circa early 1900s here, and filled the space with tourist-oriented shops, cafes, 
galleries, and restaurants. We enjoyed a meal at El Ranchito - complimentary chips and salsa, and beautifully tasty carnitas (approx 10$) with tortilla de maiz. There is a liquor store next door and you can BYO. Just up the road is Kapa'au town, which has lots of traditional houses and the statue of King Kamehameha, with which tourists seem to love to have their photo taken.*Keokea beach park is nothing remarkable.
There is a gazebo shelter on a rocky hill, to which local teens have laid claim.*Pololu valley lookout - everyone drives here to peek out over this dramatic valley and the sheer cliffs on the other side. A popular trail leads down to the beach.
*Waimea - this is a real town, with 2 supermarkets, banks, and lots of food options. People come here for the Parker ranch attractions. The drive from the Kohala coast is quite pretty, and a great example of how quickly the climate and flora can change in Hawaii. You crest the hill, and suddenly everything is green. Our favourite restaurant on the island is on the 19 heading out of town - Huli Sue's. They do BBQ (11-20$), a farmer's market fresh salad bar (9$), yummy potato biscuits (free with meals), and an amazing passionfruit cheesecake (? but worth it). The ambiance is fantastic -
lovely colours and decor in a traditional weatherboard house. Longboard lager comes in Bell jars (4$ a pint). The waitstaff here seem to be locals who spend most of their time working their hobby farms and surfing, and just need a bit of cash on the side. We also ate lunch at the Chinese buffet place in the KTA strip mall. It was a better than average all-you-can-eat deal for 9$ including a great green bean with black bean sauce dish, flavourful stewed pork, decent gyoza, fried rice and noodle, etc. One door down is a Thai place, one door up is 
Korean. Also in this strip mall is the Kamuela deli, which does down-home fat-laden Hawaiian meals. We tried the Hawaiian lunch (10$) which was pork fried in pork fat, with a side of fatty pork in taro, sweet potato drenched in same pork 
fat, macaroni salad, and rice. The deli also has a sushi joint, where we picked up a decent rainbow roll (9$). This place is a clue to why many residents of Hawaii are so large, and have lots of abdominal bruises suspicious for insulin injection sites.
